#1: 2010 Top FHA-Volume Ratio

> FHA-Volume Rank: #9
> Percent FHA Loans: 95%

Top Originators rankings | Next profile

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Despite changes to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance, Michael Guthneck remained committed to FHA borrowers in 2010.

“FHA borrowers are looking for help and they always have an open ear to listen to what you have to explain to them,” Guthneck says. “Their needs are greater … because the only financial tool they have is [often] their home. They really need to make the right decision.”

Guthneck, a former Wonder bread salesman and U.S. Marines veteran, had the No. 1 FHA ratio on the 2010 Top Originators list.

Concentrating on FHA streamline refinances, Guthneck closed only two loans for first-time homebuyers in 2010. He doesn’t, however, expect his FHA-weighted production to continue so substantially.

“Some of the FHA changes didn’t allow borrowers to qualify [in 2010],” he says. “So that made it tougher.”

In response, he spent much of his time planning for 2011, deciding that offering primarily FHA loans wouldn’t meet his business goals going forward. Since making that determination, Guthneck has been working on a platform to take on more conventional business and increase overall production.

As of late February, Guthneck said he had already closed about 50 loans this year.

“I’m really excited about what’s coming up,” he says.

— Darrick Meneken